Packed a lot into a short week

When we talked with Peter about his trip to Haiti, one thing he was definite about. He wanted to get some griot (deep fried pork) from the street vendors. One of his fondest memories was a treat the older kids sometimes got. They would sometimes go to the corner vendor and buy some food. So, he was able to do that a lot while they were there. A local who spent some time in Canada but is now back in Haiti working with Haitian pastors, doesn't even buy food from the vendors. Yikes.

Robin made sure they had a visit to the Baptist Mission. He went there a few times while at Kay B. This time the treat was ice cream.

His favourite experience in Haiti was spending time in the mountains of Kenscoff with family. He was born there and lived there for the first 6 years of his life. His memories are a little weak, but it was obvious that the time spent there fed his soul.

Peter's favourite photo of his week in Haiti. 

Another highlight was spending time with Joyce and Molly at Kay B. A couple of random kids threw themselves into the photo. It's amazing to see how much Peter has grown when we look at his former caregivers.

It's also hard to believe that Peter slept in these beds. He has grown so much.

The nannies were excited to see Peter. The kids don't come back often and so they don't get to see the results of their hard work except through photos. It sounds like they were very happy to see Peter. They all asked questions about Gaëlle and Robin was able to show them all the photos on his iPad. 

It's no surprise that Gaëlle is known for her strong will and her desire to be in control of everything and everyone. The staff confirmed some of Gaëlle's tales of her punishment and admitted that she spent a lot of time in the punishment area. I think Robin shared that she has come a long way in her ability to control her actions. 

Peter was thrilled to swim in the ocean. Even though Haiti is surrounded by water, this was his first time swimming there. 

They had the chance to experience many different ways of travel while in Haiti. On their return trip from La Gonave, they went on the wooden Wesleyana. 

Val spent three years in Haiti and this was her first time on a Tap Tap. The experience even included a flat tire 5 minutes into the trip. 

Peter developed a saying while he was there. "Let's do it Haitian." I think riding on the back of a Tap Tap qualifies. 

Home again. Back to the cold. Robin is holding the basket they picked up for Gaëlle, which she immediately filled with her American Girl doll clothes. Quite a contrast but completely symbolic of their lives now. 

School in Terre Sel

Robin has been up to Terre Sel, a little community up the mountains in La Gonave 3 times now. He has been struck by the dedication of the teacher and the isolation of the community and the desire of the people to have a decent school for the children.

You can see that the current building is very delapidated and looks like it's ready to fall down. 

The walls are up on a new building but there needs to be much more fund raising and support to help the community reach their dreams.

It really is quite the journey up to Terre Sel. Peter and Vashti did it the Haitian way ; in the back of the truck. And stay tuned as we look to see what our role can be in making this school a reality.

And they're off!

A few days before the trip to Haiti and we've got a little bit of medicine taking going on. The boys because they're going to Haiti. Gaëlle, just because she hates to be left out. She's just drinking water. 

Last Saturday night we went to a potluck for the immigrant community in Halifax. Robin is invested in the community because of his job. And let's face it, 3 of his immediate family are immigrants. Wahoo. It was huge. Lots of people. Lots of kids. And as you can see, face painting. 

The big day has arrived. We dropped them off at the airport this morning at 4:20 am. Yikes. But do you see the big smiles? We were kind of concerned about how Peter would handle this whole trip. There are lots of people praying for him and we have certainly felt it. He has not shown much anxiety and has seemed almost nonchalant about the whole thing. Until this morning. He was visibly happy to be on this adventure. 

Big hugs goodbye. 

4 hockey bags filled to exactly the 50 pound mark. 2 carry ons. 2 personal bags. 1 anxious man. 1 excited boy.

Going... going... gone.

One last stop at Tim Hortons shared with me through the beauty of iCloud. Looks like one person is feeling a little punchy at 5 in the morning. And it's not Peter.

Oh boy. His own screen on the plane. Could life get any better?

Typical evening

Every night Gaëlle has reading to do. This is often a bit of a struggle. Since starting French school, it's still a struggle but it's one Robin deals with usually. He's become incredibly patient. We know why it's a struggle. Well not really. I don't know why reading is difficult for her, but we know why the struggle is more intense then it needs to be. She does not like to be out of control. This is common for kids from her background. They have absolutely no say or control and life has thrown them some HUGE challenges. So when they can gain control, they take it. Even if it hurts them. Reading is clearly one of those areas that she takes control when she can. She pretends she doesn't know words/sounds/ideas/ etc. Because she often doesn't know them. We try not to make it an issue of control, but it's soooo hard to stay patient and calm. 

Fortunately she is a bright girl. I have no doubt that when she chooses to master the material, it will happen. She will make it happen.

And she loves to be read to. LOVES it.

Crafting is huge in our family. Right now, the evenings are spent with rainbow loom bracelets and all kinds of drawing. Yes, Peter likes to play with the rainbow bands also.

Evenings are full of dishes. Robin and I share this chore.

The rainbow loom belongs to Gaëlle and she gets all kinds of ideas from videos online. She even pretends to make her own videos. It is so cute. I would love to secretly videotape her. She is so professional and matter of fact. 

And now that the Olympics have started, we have spent a little bit of time watching the winter fun. Go Canada.

Fitness 2014

I was a regular runner for about 7 years. Nothing major but enough so that I could always go out and run 10 km and feel good. I wasn't fast and I only ran every other day, but it was a good and easy way for me to stay fit. In the fall of 2011, I started working in a building that didn't have a shower facility and as I usually run at lunch time, this became a bit of a problem. I walked a bit but for various reasons, I didn't keep up with my running. Finally in the spring of last year, I decided to get back into a regular fitness routine. So, I drove to another building during lunch where I exercised and then showered and then headed back to work. It felt good to be exercising regularly again. In the summer our office moved into a new building with it's own gym and shower facilities. Yeah. It's a bit more convenient to work out and I try to run 4 out of 5 days a week. I don't worry too much about the weekends. I would love to, but it's usually too much stress on myself to exercise on Saturday or Sunday. There is too much else going on.

I'm still doing fine, but I decided to use some Christmas money and buy myself a gadget. It's really a glorified pedometer, but I decided this was as much as I wanted. I wear the fitbit zip all day and it measures my activity. It can tell when I am exerting more energy and I when I am just walking. I'm aiming for 10,000 steps a day. It automatically syncs to my computer and as you can see from the screenshot, there are all kinds of fun graphics and reports. Last spring when I started running again, I also started using the fitness pal app on my iPad. I love it and was faithful through until the fall. Then I took a break. I enter the food that I'm eating and the exercise that I do, and it monitors my progress. Now my fitbit and fitness pal app are connected and I'm back on track monitoring my eating and my exercise. Actually I'm only on my first full day, because it took me a while to break down and buy myself a pedometer, but I'm glad I did.

This wasn't a goal of mine for the new year. Just one of those fine tuneup things I want to do periodically. I'm comfortable with where I am at physically, but I just want to be a bit more consistent with my exercise and eating. For me, it just helps when I keep track.

Wow - It's Been 4 Years

Monday we celebrated 4 years as a family. In so many ways it seems as though we've been together forever and in other ways, it seems like just yesterday we were in Ottawa anxiously waiting for the plane to land.

We have done something different each of the past 4 years. This time both kids requested ribs for the meal. 

Finger licking good.

Apple crisp for dessert.

And then 3 sisters goofing around the table.

Singing at the top,of their lungs.

Looking at the latest funny video.

Check out how tall Peter is. Crazy. And getting taller. 

We try not to make these days an over the top celebration. But we do want to acknowledge the event. It was life changing for all us. We are so blessed to be a part of Peter and Gaëlle's life and are excited to see what this year will bring.

2014 Begins

January 1st has come and gone. I made the traditional Haitian Soup Joumou (Pumpkin Soup) once again. 

It's nice to have a pumpkin base for the soup instead of a tomato base and I love this tradition altho Peter and Gaëlle would prefer fried chicken. We told them they get to choose the meal on PG Day and that's coming up. I have a feeling they won't be asking for Soup Joumou. 

Carol and Rob came over and brought some crafts for the kids. Emily needed to help Gaëlle with hers. 

But Peter picked up on the concept pretty easily.

After the meal, we had ice cream sundaes again. We still have lots of toppings. 

We played the game "APPLES TO APPLES". It's a fun easy game for all ages to play. I wish I had taken more photos but this is it for the day. 

Friday, January 3rd, we had a bit of a blizzard. Emily spent the night with us before as she was working on grad school admissions. So she pulled out Kaylin's guitar and spent some time learning. 

Another one of the dresses Grammy sent up for Gaëlle that gets washed and then immediately gets worn again. 

Robin and I actually drove into work on Friday morning. The building was fairly empty and as the storm was worsening we decided to leave early. Somehow between the time we decided to leave and getting in the car, Robin put out his back. He is so frustrated but came home and laid down on some heat. 

Peter spent some of the day reading. 

Gaëlle worked on some "THANK YOU" cards. 

Peter played with planes and created his own out of styrofoam. 

I finally got my energy to do some baking. I made white bread, brown bread, banana bread, apple crisp, and double stuffed potatoes. It felt good to be productive.